


Elsewhere

by kaeorin



Series: Loki's Lullabies [157]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Affection, Bedtime Stories, Cuddling & Snuggling, Escapism, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Love, M/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27198470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaeorin/pseuds/kaeorin
Summary: When things get bad, you ask Loki to tell you about other places. He never refuses.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Series: Loki's Lullabies [157]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678240
Comments: 9
Kudos: 87





	Elsewhere

**Author's Note:**

> I know I’m not the only one who longs for something like this. Keep your chin up, loves.

“Tell me about another place.”

It had become an ever-more common refrain for you lately, but who could blame you? The world was burning. Hell, it’d been burning for longer than you’d been alive, but something about this year had only stoked the flames. This year felt like a backdraft. By now, even the quiet moments, the little shreds of peace, only felt like lulls in the action: deep gasps of air before a white-hot explosion came bursting out of whatever door or window some fool had flung open.

Tonight was not much different.

As always, Loki did what he could. Tonight, he’d gathered and lit many of the candles that littered your apartment, and then turned off the overhead light to bathe the two of you in the warm flickering glow. You curled into one another on your sofa. Loki’s arm was a comforting weight along your shoulders. He drew in a long, slow breath and tightened his arm around you.

“Have you any particular place in mind?” Fondness suffused his words. There was something so tender about his voice every time he spoke to you: a warmth that filled you to the brim and tonight you could hear the smile that graced his lips. Where would you be without him right now, you wondered.

“No. Just somewhere far away.” Far from the panic that had overtaken your planet, the hate, the cold the indifference. You were too sensitive, you knew—you always had been. Seeing the way people treated each other had always eaten away at you, even before...well, this year. It made you feel sick sometimes, and a cold, numb sense of utter helplessness would fill your chest. You hated that feeling. That feeling was a big part of the reason you’d ached to work with Stark Industries. And you did a lot of good there, you knew you did. But it was never enough.

Loki drew in another long, slow breath. If you didn’t know him as well as you did, you might assume that he was trying to come up with a pretty lie when he did that. But, despite his reputation, he swore, sweetly and ardently, that he’d never lie to you. And you believed him. He’d never given you a reason not to.

“There exists a realm full of enchanted forests as in the fairy tales you tell your children.” He leaned in a little closer to you to kiss your temple, and then he rested his forehead against it. “It is the home of creatures of light and warmth. It’s peaceful there. For the most part, everything is capable of coexisting with everything else, and concepts like war and unrest are practically unheard of.”

You sighed. Sometimes his stories were a little too incredible for you, but you tried really hard not to interrupt him too often. If you did, you feared that he’d get fed up and stop indulging you. Instead of speaking, you pulled your lower lip between your teeth and bit down. Of course you should have expected him to know what you weren’t saying—he laughed under his breath and brushed the tips of his fingers along your shoulder.

“It _is_. All are so well provided-for that there is little need for conflict. This realm is fair and just, and beautiful besides. There are droves of elves scattered throughout, and royal families, and it is they who look after all the others. One may stroll along the sunlit paths through the forests. There are beaches along the coast, and palaces made of coral. But for as bright as this realm is, it is never garish. Parts of it would look utterly foreign to you, but I can promise you this: You would be welcomed with all the fanfare and adoration as any other esteemed guest.” His hand was still trailing against your shoulder. Pleasant chills followed in its wake. You knew that goosebumps would surely be peppering your skin. Loki loved to give you goosebumps. Often, he would smirk at you before lowering his mouth to your skin to taste them, to touch them with his tongue. Tonight, he did not move, though you did feel the way he splayed his fingers out a little wider to take you in. You couldn’t help but sigh, and then you nestled still closer to him.

“Have you visited this place often?” Maybe you were imagining a stroll through a shady forest with him. He’d slip away from you and duck behind the trunk of some ancient tree where he could watch you with that dark edge in his eyes—the one that made you feel rather (and deliciously) like prey. Even now, you shivered at the thought.

“Not often, no.” He sounded thoughtful, and you had to wonder just what he was remembering. “My position in Asgard, and my father’s yearning to subjugate meant they did not appreciate my visits, even when I did not seek to bring war upon them. But news of my banishment has to have spread by now. And if I were accompanied by a Midgardian like you? I am sure we would have no troubles there.”

“Would _you_ be welcomed with all the fanfare and adoration as any other, now?” You told yourself that he did not sound wistful. Not for the first time, nor the last, anger surged within you. Anger at Odin for all the disservice he did his beautiful son. Whenever you made the mistake of allowing Loki to see this anger, he seemed to feel responsible for consoling you. You’d learned to keep a tighter lid on your temper so as to avoid burdening him with any other negative feelings about his so-called father. How different things could have been if he’d found it within himself to spare Loki eve a fraction of the attention and affection he’d heaped upon Thor.

As he so often did, Loki knew your mind. He kissed your temple once again and laughed quietly, a gentle puff of air against your skin. “With you at my side? Beyond the shadow of a doubt. They would greet you as royalty, love, having seen the sweetness and kindness in your heart, and all would be well. They would know that someone like you would not take someone like me as a consort unless they saw something good in them, and that would be enough to convince them.” 

You wanted to interrupt him again. You hated it when he spoke of himself in such a way—in that way that told you he still saw himself as a monster. He didn’t see the way he looked at you in the middle of the night, with eyes that were warm and brimming with love. He couldn’t feel the way he touched you, or how affection flowed from his very fingertips. He was so much more than he thought he was. But you kept this to yourself, for now, and instead slipped your hand beneath his shirt to gently stroke the skin of his belly. Perhaps you could simply _will_ your feelings for him into his skin.

“Once we get away from the attentions of the others there, I’ll take you to see the realm. I’d love to watch your face as you meet all the other creatures and take in the sights around you. The sunlight is always golden there, and never uncomfortable. It lights, but never burns. It never blinds. I’ll walk with you on the shore and admire the way your skin shines in the sunlight. You’ll put all of their palaces and wonders to shame with your beauty, little dove.”

Your face burned, so you turned to hide it against his chest. You groaned out a warning—“ _Lokiii_...”—but he only laughed and tightened his arm around you in an embrace. God, you loved his laugh. If you had to, maybe you’d keep letting him make you blush like this, if he’d laugh like _that_ each time.

“Alright, alright. Perhaps we’ll venture deep into one of the forests? It is said that, at the heart of many of them, even in midday, there are creatures that float and glide through the air like tiny lanterns. I would take you there and watch your face light up as you drank in the magic. It would be still there, and cool, and peaceful. We could sit together at the base of one of the great old trees and no one would interrupt us.” 

It sounded lovely. You let your eyes drift closed as you imagined what it would be like there in the dark of the forest with those glowing creatures. Bugs? Birds? It didn’t matter much to you. If you were there with Loki, if his arms were secure around you, what more could you need? “But what about the people?” you murmured. “Could we meet the elves? You said they’re kind, right?”

“Oh, they are renowned for their hospitality. If you’d like, we could stroll through their marketplaces to find you an appropriate gown for dinner at the palace. They’d be thrilled to help you, I know it already. At the very first stall, a pair of younglings would take you away from me to ply you with their beautiful creations.” You drew in a breath to protest, but he pressed on. “They wouldn’t take you far, just to a fitting room so they could find just the right one. The fuss they’d make, darling, and the pride with which they would present you to me once you were perfectly-attired. And I know that you would be beautiful and it’d be hard to keep my hands off of you.”

And, despite your struggles with less-than-stellar self-esteem, you believed him. Here in the privacy of your small apartment, he rarely bothered to keep his hands to himself. He was all hands and fingers, gentle caresses and heated touches. Not that you minded. Not that you minded in the least. You reached out to take his hand, now, and meditatively traced the outlines of his fingers. His hand twitched ever-so-slightly, but then he held it open for you. Steady. He had the loveliest hands. 

Loki went on. He brought the palaces to life right there in your mind. He described the people, the food, the magic, and it was all a glowing balm for your aching soul. The beauty, the magic, already they were making you feel giddy. It was hard to believe that such a place could exist anywhere outside his stories, but you did. You believed him. You drew in a shaky breath. “I wish we were there now.” You hated the mournful tone in your voice, but let it go. Had you ever said anything so truthful in your life?

“Then let’s go.” He sounded sincere, but, you noted gladly, made no motion to rise to his feet. “I can take us there. We can be there in a moment.” He tightened his fingers around your hand. Something rather like excitement rose into your throat, but your limbs felt heavy. As desperate as you were to escape this nightmare, was it fair? Could you live with yourself if _that_ was how you got out? Whining to a celestial prince often enough that he got tired of it and whisked you away? Who even _were_ you? Certainly there were countless others who were endlessly more deserving than you. You kept your eyes fixed on his fingers. Loki would read these thoughts in your face if you weren’t careful.

You straightened your shoulders. “I can’t. I shouldn’t.”

“That’s what I feared you’d say.” He did sound a little disappointed, but he did not let go of you. You stayed there, nestled comfortably against him, his arm snug and solid around you. “You are too concerned with others, my lovely one, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He pulled you still closer—was there any way to know where your body ended and his began? Was there any part of you which cared? “Nevermind. It will still be there when things have settled here. I will take you there. I _will_ watch you on the sands and in the forests, and I _will_ kiss you so sweetly there that you cannot remember anything that burdens you. You’ll see.”

He sounded so sure of himself that you knew better than to argue with him. Or to doubt him. You sighed—something like contentment—and hid your face against him once more. He went on talking, and spun beautiful tales and promises out of thin air even as his body remained solid against you. A promise.

The candles went on burning.


End file.
